robertwhite

The law doesn't agree with you, omelet. Maybe you've heard of "unauthorized reproduction"? There have been means to reproduce media (legally or illegally) for a long time. There have been laws regarding such means for nearly as long. The owner legally controls the right of duplication. Not you. The fact that it's not entirely enforceable doesn't make it any less illegal.

Look - I realize this is widespread, and probably won't disappear. We all operate outside of the law from time to time. If you think it SHOULDN'T be illegal, that's one thing. If you don't FEEL guilty for doing it, that's your prerogative. But the law is the law. If you get caught and/or sued, your little "sunglasses" explanation won't do you much good.

brem

robertwhite: you're not entirely correct. The law says you can duplicate the media for your personal purposes. And now with the DRM laws our governments are passing, even that is endangered of becoming a criminal act.

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brem
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omelet

My comment was simply to distiguish this from 'theft'. Did you read it robertwhite? It was no attempt to condone the act, and it wasn't given as a planned line of defense in court. I'm sorry if you disapprove of smiley-faces.

rowuk

Brem,
While fakebooks could be considered "theft", I think the difference is that they have no "arrangements", they are only the basic melody and chord progression. They were "legal" in that they were also openly sold and any of the copyright owners were free to sue the publishing house. The fact that that did not happen shows that the copyright owners probably benefitted from the arrangements that did end up paying royalties.

Tape decks did allow copying of music and the in the end music industry (in Germany at least) addressed that issue by levying a fee on every blank video tape sold. Digital media is tougher because you can record audio on the same media as your data. Now that music is independent of media (MP3s stored on portable players, harddrives, cell phones.......) the industry has an even bigger problem............

But get serious, theft of sheet music complete arrangements, recorded material, reference material has been made so easy by modern technology, and unfortunately, societies sense of "Right and Wrong" as well as respect for property - intellectual or not has NOT kept up with the technological advancements. I believe we do have the problem that greed is more prevalent in every social level than EVER before.

There is no comparison necessary. If it is wrong, it is wrong and wrong is easier than ever before!!!!!!

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Jurandr

Here's my view. It's not long and complicated and easy to understand my *most* people.

Artists spend a lot of time working on their music, perfecting it, honing it to drive home the message they are intending. They've probably spent nearly their entire lives devoted to music to produce what they are currently. Getting paid a dollar a track is pretty small compared to all the other work they've done, and I'm more than happy to help compensate for their work by paying my dues and not stealing it.

Also; in development is a program called qtrax. It's ad-supported free&legal downloads. check it out maybe? Qtrax Site

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brem

What artists have to come to realise, is that before the invention of recordings, they had to make money otherwise, by doing shows. The era of "concept albums" where the Beatles would record the album and become multi-millionaires is gone. Long gone. If you want your mullah, you'd better start marchandising yourself, selling lots of t-shirts, doing lots of shows and hope for the best.

Coercion is never going to work. People will keep copying mp3 files. Why? Because they can. It's easy.

And quite honestly, I don't see the difference between copying a mp3 file and copying a tape from the 80s. The artist suffered just the same. Those who survived deserved it. :)

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brem
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NYTC Stage 1 California Light - Schilke 15B mpc
Bach Stradivarius Bb Model 37 * #124xxx (circa 1975) - Schilke 15B mpc
Yamaha YFH-731 Flugelhorn #000xxx - Yamaha 14F4-GP mpc

rowuk

Brem,
the difference is easy. If you count the tape recorders sold, or the even blank tapes sold to consumers, you will see an almost insignificant loss to the industry. If you go to any school and just check out the cell phones (not to mention the MP3 players) you will see ALARMING proportions.
The problem is almost nobody even has a problem with theft anymore - unless something of theirs gets stolen.....................
Whether the artists suffer or not is another issue. We have almost a complete generation of consumers unwilling to pay fair market value for anything - but they sure bitch about the jobs leaving the country to make that unrealistic price even possible. This is MUCH bigger than simple morality or solid character!

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Vulgano Brother

Here is my (albeit skewed) way of looking at the issue:
The first method used to publish music was by print, and the copyright laws were put in place to protect the publisher more than the composer.
The biggest market for music became for Hausmusik, and sheet music's biggest market was "popular" music.
The main function of the early recordings was to promote the sale of sheet music.
In the 1940's the AFM went to strike for the right of recording musicians to receive rolalties based on sales. Around this time, shows started to be used to promote record sales.
"Piracy" of both print and recorded music was difficult and expensive, and the pirates were not the consumers.
Publishers encouraged the paradigm shift from piracy meaning stealing to make money, and stealing to save money.
Making a photocopy to make a page turn possible is something I do not see as criminal, nor burning a CD from my favorite LP's--selling those CD's is.
"Publishing" on the internet of recordings or scanned sheet music and giving them away for free is a huge ethical question.

The Grateful Dead's sollution to piracy was simple. They encouraged bootleg tapes of their concerts, even giving people a line out from the board, and once people realized that every Dead Show on a tour was different, their audiences grew and grew.

What a long strange trip the recording/publishing industry has seen...

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tatakata

I use iTunes

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